Fans and t5ho

[mikerobart]

I am looking at the sunlight supply tek light 8x54w for a 120g 48x24x24. I know the ATI Powermodule kicks it's ass, and have seen the PAR tests on RC that show this. However, it's a bit too rich for my blood.

I have read that the major difference  is not so much in the reflectors but in the active cooling of the bulbs themselves - the ATI has a fan for each pair of bulbs. Could a similiar result not be achieved with a bank of fans blowing right onto the tubes from underneath? If active cooling is indeed accounting for 25+ %  of the extra output of the ATI, could some of the shortcomings of the Tek be overcome with fans like this?

Any ideas are welcome, regardless I will probably be more than happy with a tek if I go that route.

[ray]

Hi I'll contact my SS rep and see if he has any wisdom to part with

Ray

[mikerobart]

Thanks Ray, it will be good to hear what he has to say!

[tskinner]

You could always go with the Tek and get some small clip on fans or mod the fixture to put fans in the top to get the extra 25 to 30% par without paying the price for the ATI fixture.....T5's are a pretty popular discussion on reefcentral these days....

[RossW]

Hi I'll contact my SS rep and see if he has any wisdom to part with

Ray

Add me to the list of Tek system owners who are interested in the response.

[mikerobart]

You could always go with the Tek and get some small clip on fans or mod the fixture to put fans in the top to get the extra 25 to 30% par without paying the price for the ATI fixture.....T5's are a pretty popular discussion on reefcentral these days....

This is exactly what I was wondering about, if a clip-on could get them to pump out that extra 25% or so. I can't imagine the ATI reflectors are THAT much superior.. it seems to be a cooling issue. I can't justify the extra price of the ATI when I could get the same results with some cheap clip on fans.. although that does detract slightly from the display.. not a big deal to me.

[fishsticks]

I have computer fans in my vents to blow air up from the basement to heat my upstairs and they work great try that mabye???

[salvini55]

Add me to the list of Tek system owners who are interested in the response.

+1

[tskinner]

IF you have the budget and want a sleek look go ATI.  If not you'll have to settle with the TEK and try some clampon or mod some fans in. 

[tskinner]

Also, what kind of coral do you plan on keeping...mixed...lps....sps....??

[mikerobart]

Mixed and a clam or two. Have seen some tanks with t5 with clams on the bottom, sps all over. I have no issue keeping the sps higher up if need be, and it will not be sps dominant.

[tskinner]

Or you could always but a canopy and do a T5 retro install.  Run the lights off a IC660 ballast.  It can overdrive 4 54 Watt T5's to 82Watts each.  Could be an option and then install fans in the canopy for your cooling keeping everything sleek and consealed.  Just a thought

[tskinner]

Oh and here's a link to a 110 gallon sps reef running T5's only and its very impressive.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-03/totm/index.php

[ray]

Hi here is the response from Sunlight Supply


Hi Ray,

We don't have any info on this but there are several threads on Reef Central about people modifying their Tek lights with fans. Actually it's not just blowing air across them but that does help. On a T5 lamp there's a "cold spot" on the one end of the lamp behind the label. When warm air is blown across this spot it heats the "cold spot" to a more desirable temp resulting in higher output, I doubt 25+% according to GE and Phillips lighting if the cold spot is maintained at 95 degrees you will get about 13% higher output. I know some guys on Reef Central are claiming 25+% but no matter how these guys do there testing I doubt they have the sophisticated lab and computer software that GE and Phillips has. But people will take it as the truth if it's written on RC especially by a certain member.

The way the air cooling works is it blows air across the ballasts and then onto the "cold spot" heating it to a more desirable temp.

Sorry for the long email I just wanted to give you all the info I have.



Thanks,

Chris Guthrie

Sunlight Supply

Aquarium Account Manager-East

888-265-9005

615-622-8223 fax

615-622-8203 direct

[mikerobart]

Thanks Ray, some good info!

And all this time I thought the higher output of the ATI was because of cooler running bulbs! The idea is to heat the cold spots for higher output! Interesting stuff.

[redbelly]

Anthony Calfo just put out an excellent article on T5 Lighting that we just posted on the front page to our site.

It outlines some very improtant points on the cooling of lamps + the reflectors + the ballasts.

http://ottawainverts.com/